Regional Development Agencies Boards
Board Members are appointed by the Secretary of State in line with the Code of Practice issued by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.
The Board has corporate responsibility for ensuring that the Agency fulfils the aims and objectives set by the Secretary of State and for promoting the efficient and effective use of staff and other resources by the Agency.
In addition to their corporate responsibilities, individual Board members are expected to act in accordance with their wider responsibility as Members of the Board.
Update Nov 2008: Several of the RDAs have published press notices giving details of appointments to their board members with effect from December 2008.
Communication between the Board and the Minister will generally be through the Chair except where the Board has agreed that an individual member should act on its behalf. Nevertheless, any Board member has the right of access to ministers on any matter, which he/she believes raises important issue relating to his/her duties as a board member. In such cases the agreement of the rest of the Board should normally be sought.
Board members’ time commitment is 2 days a month, including attendance at regular boards and sub-group meetings and other events. There is also the need to maintain awareness of subjects relevant to the work of the RDA. Members will often find themselves managing a heavy workload and tight time constraints.
First appointments to an RDA Board are usually for 3 years, renewable for a further term (generally for a maximum of a further 3 years), on the recommendation of the Chair, subject to a satisfactory performance appraisal and the agreement of the Ministers. Should a Board member wish to serve a third term, under OCPA requirements they must apply in open competition; no one can serve on the same Board for a total of more than ten years.
Board members are there to further the success of the RDA. They should not consider themselves to be the delegates of a particular group or body, but take into account the interests of the region as a whole.